Pakistan have suffered two last-ball defeats but they could still finish among the top two if they win their remaining games and finish on six points. But for that to happen, the other results will have to go their way.

For instance, if South Africa beat India and the Netherlands, and India beat Bangladesh and Zimbabwe, both South Africa and India will finish on more than six points, and knock out Pakistan.

Winning their remaining three matches to keep their semi-finals hopes alive will be the top priority for Babar Azam’s men as they take on the Netherlands in Perth in the day’s first match on Sunday. To do that Pakistan need an injection of intent in their batting, especially in their Powerplay overs.

Early wickets have led to their Powerplay struggles. The early dismissals of their opening combination of Babar and Mohammad Rizwan have upset their plans. However, the Dutch are slightly more hungry to get going. Despite a similarly vacant points column, Pakistan’s final-ball defeats have shielded them against a drastic plunge in NRR.

The Netherlands did give Bangladesh a late scare only to eventually fall nine short in a chase of 145. However, their bowling has been their area of concern. In Pakistan, the Netherlands have an opponent with a hint of vulnerability about them, and may sense a chance to break through.

“We haven’t started well, but the morale of the team is high. We all saw we played well against India. We couldn’t quite close it. Same with the second game. This is cricket,” Pakistan’s fast bowler Haris Rauf said on Saturday.

“There are always ups and downs, but everybody knows the team efforts. We have belief in each other. We get hurt as much as the fans. We have stuck together, there is still time in this tournament, we will try to put up good cricket for the fans.”

The Netherlands’ batting has revolved around opener Max O’Dowd, who has scored 276 runs at a strike-rate of 120 in the eight T20 World Cup fixtures since the 2021 edition as compared to the others in the top-six, who have together contributed only 457 runs. With a mis-firing middle-order to follow, getting the openers out cheaply could be the key to restricting the Dutch to a low score on Sunday.

Zimbabwe cautious

Brisbane: Zimbabwe are certainly upbeat after stunning Pakistan by one run in their last game this World Cup. But they also understand that they cannot take their foot off the gas in their coming matches, beginning with the one against Bangladesh at the Gabba on Sunday.

“The guys obviously have got their tails up. We’ve got a lot of confidence with the win against Pakistan, but we just know how fragile this game is and how quickly it can turn around.

“So we can’t look too far ahead,” captain Craig Ervine said on Saturday.

Written with PTI inputs